What to expect when you’re expecting a coaching biz

August 11, 2017

You can totally see yourself adding coaching to your list of offerings this year. I know that after I did, it felt like I was flipping the page to a whole new chapter to not only my online biz but to my personal life as well.

When I was going through my coaching training programs it felt like I was pregnant with a dream.

The symptoms were pretty similiar. At the beginning I felt a little nauseous by the thought of putting myself out there as a coach. And then at other times I would catch myself daydreaming about that moment I sign on my first client, imagining her loving her sessions as much as I love it when I get coached and then celebrating by treating my husband to some sort of cuisine where you’re encouraged to eat without cutlery (feels so fancy and the food tastes better for some reason).

And then there are those bursts of energy where I was devouring all sorts of self-help books, podcasts, worksheets, self-care programs to ready myself, on all levels to accommodate this exciting entity in my life.

Whether you decide that you are ready to coach as is based on your area of expertise or from picking up some coaching techniques from a training program, your world is going to look a whole lot different.

Any business venture is going to make waves in all areas of your life.

And as a busy, creative and multi-passionate mama, these waves were impacting so many lives other than my own.

But it helps to do some prep work, gain some solid communication skills and maybe tune up them psychic abilities that seem to come with being a mom so you can set yourself up for success and catch a glimpse of the reality check that is life as a coach and a mom.

The truth is, my life totally changed from the moment I conceived of the idea of becoming a coach. Mostly for the better of course.

Let me count the ways.

1. You’ll be your number one client.

Anytime you stretch out of your comfort zone chances are good issues will rise to the surface. Luckily, as a freshly trained coach, you’re going to be armed with the tools and techniques you can apply to yourself.

You’re going to be constantly paying attention to the strategies that work for you so you can help others who are seeking your kind of support. Keep coming back to center, share your stories on your blog or private journal, so you can help others their own dreams and goals come true.

2. You might come across as a self-care junkie.

All this ‘can’t help but coach myself’ business will often look like you’re prioritizing your self care. Which is awesome and inspiring to those around you. But it also might come across as a strong mama defining her boundaries and saying no to many things you use to say yes to.

Keep exercising this boundary making muscle because those are going to be the same ones you’re going to be applying to create the time, energy and space in your days to get your coaching biz off the ground and making you some money sooner than you can say “sorry, I’m getting a massage at that time”.

3. You’re going to be reading a lot more self-care self-help and entrepreneurial books.

Business growth and personal growth go hand-in-hand. And it’s apparent as you start tracking your income that the more you study these areas, the more steadily your monthly income grows. Plus it just feels awesome when you learn new ways to offer your clients an even more transformative experience and find more people to work your magic on.

And just a heads up, because you’re probably also a busy Mama, audio books and podcasts will be your new best friends.? My new fave past time is swirling the self-care with self-help all in one Kathy-flavoured smoothie when I’m listening to these babies in the tub once the kids are in bed. No more soggy books here! Just have to be careful not to accidentally electrocute myself.

4. Half your time will be spent marketing your coaching services.

You’re going to be creating marketing strategies that you enjoy doing and will be reaching your ideal clients. Luckily there’s lots to choose from so you get to pick a few mediums that speak to you and will resonate with your target audience. One way or another you’re going to be blogging at least once a week. But if you don’t write that can look like making videos or a podcast.

You will be reaching out to those who choose to follow you with a weekly newsletter. Here you get to take some of the remaining mystery around what coaching’s about, share what your passionate about these days in the realm of serving your community or what are new ways to work with you.

Or simply write a love letter.

You’ll be choosing two to three social media platforms to get real comfortable and consistent with so you can build rapport, gain trust, play detective to find clues on how you can help and get some conversations started.

Other marketing activities can look like hosting webinars, offering live in-person workshops and talks in your community. Marketing time might look like following up by email or even phone calls with past clients to foster these precious relationships.

Thank Oprah all these tactics are fun. And you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. But you do have to put on your big mama panties, be brave, and what works best for you and your unique practice.

5. You get to be your own boss

This element might call for some imagination. Like when I catch myself stuck on Facebook sending Craig videos to show the kids later, I like to imagine my boss lady alter ego, decked out in giant shoulder pads and slightly inappropriate mini skirt, is looking over my shoulder and tsk tsking.

This makes me shudder enough to click away and get back to the task at hand.

Which then looks like me looking at my daytimer. AKA my pseudo boss. I just do whatever my planner pad tells me to do. Sunday nights are when I open up a fresh new week and fill in my top row of to do’s and then funnel in my tasks into the specific days they should be done.

The pretty sweet part of this expectation to expect is that you’re going to be (or at least should be) the best boss ever because you’re going to give out some pretty sweet bonuses. I like to aim for income goals each month and if I hit them this boss mama forks out facial gift certificates. She’s awesome like that.

6. You’re going to need some help.

Start to get comfortable asking for help and releasing attachments to some current fixtures of your current day to day. For example, extracurricular activities, volunteer commitments and even cleanliness standards you might be accustomed to. But you get to look forward to calling in some reinforcements such as house cleaner on occasion, a mother’s helper, your partner or co-parent to watch the kids on specific mornings of the week.

And once you start earning an income you might be able to afford some more professional help. A great lesson to pass on to your kids. It does take a village to raise a child of a coaching mom.? A village made up of other creative Mamas who are comfortable asking for different kinds of support.

7. Once you settle into a work routine it will have to change.

There will be seasons to this career path just as there are seasons to Motherhood. Once you get all cozy into a flowing, predictable rhythm life is going to throw some old school dodge ball balls (apparently these days they use Nerf ball-like balls) that might knock you out for a bit, you’ll probably laugh about it later, but luckily you will be geared up with the coaching tools to help figure out how to make it all work.

Remember to take a note, blog about it or share with your mastermind and then pass on the insights to your future clients who are probably needing some support in this particular area of their life as well.

8. An important chunk of your day will be spent daydreaming.

One of my favorite Mama Bliss coaching tools is the Day Dream Machine. Because you can’t even guess where this coaching venture is going to lead you to, it’s important to find that fine balance between calculated steps and following your bliss.

The third module of Mama Bliss Coaching School we focus on marketing and growing your coaching business and because of all the expected shifts in mothering and business seasons, you don’t want to be too attached to the planning beyond three months’ time.

But for long range plans – like a year from now, five years from now, I’m a big proponent of daydreaming BIG. And the good news is that? detailed day dreams have a higher tendency to come true.

I’m actually getting more technical with my daydreaming. At the beginning of the year I laser focused on one of my goals and got very specific on what my typical day is going to look, feel, smell and sound like. I then recorded myself reading it, threw in a little new age music for good measure and then proceeded to listen to that eight minute meditation when I first woke up and before I went to bed.

Now I can just imagine for a moment the sound a didgeridoo makes and I get a flash in my mind’s eye of my beloved high five-ing me when I tell how much I just raked in that month, telling me he doesn’t know what he did to deserve me, all while smelling the sweet smell of freshly brewed latte combined with my favourite essential oil to welcome in abundance.

9. You’re going to feel amazing after a coaching session.

I usually have my coaching sessions right before I go pick up the kids from school. You can tell it’s been a such a day because I’ll be pulling up in a ridiculously good mood. It’s something about the energy exchange. Hard to put your finger on why it works but coaching works. That’s probably why I, and other coaches I know, always have a coach on their team.

10. And when you don’t, it’ll feel weird.

And because the coaching journey is such a metaphor to life you have to take these off sessions as a gift of opportunity to grow. Maybe it’s sign that this is not the ideal type of client for you. This happened to me at the beginning of my coaching journey. One client of mine introduced me to her circle of friends who turned out I was not ready to serve. They were seeking support to go back to their corporate jobs after becoming a mom, and I, being a serial entrepreneur, was in a totally different head space. But there are coaches out there for them!

Now in my marketing I’m careful to be really clear on who I’m talking to. Even if it’s simply holding an image of who represents my ideal client. For me it’s my best friend. Which is weird because she’s not online, or has any intention to be an entrepreneur, but she represents the essence of who I resonate with.

It’s the principle again of the delicate dance of visualizing in minute but concrete detail and borderline frou frou feelings.

11. The more you prepare for this gig, the smoother it’ll go.

Just like you’re about to welcome a baby to your world, you can expect that some intuitive frou frou will creep up and begin ordering you to start organizing your world to create a nice soft landing pad for the stork to drop his precious cargo.

So that’s why I created a little checklist for you. Sign up for it in the box below and it’ll help you prime your life so that even if you’re just mulling offering coaching services, or if you’re ready to sign up for some coaching training, you’ll have some basic bases covered to make this transition as smooth as possible.